Thoughts & Opinions

Muse Attack - Jan/Feb 2006

Details: Created: Monday, 02 January 2006 05:34

Well, this may seem humorous to you, but it is a true tale.

There I was, just minding my own business, and it hit. Well, maybe there was more to it than that, so I had better start at the beginning. It was the attack of the Muse of Enlightening, and it was amazing…

It all started at a workshop in Canada, on Vancouver Island, at Cowachan Lake. I had gone in hopes of breaking through a creative block I had formed around my first piece of chlorite. It was an unassuming rock of about 25 pounds. I was sure that I had seen something in it when I had purchased it 9 months earlier, but now it had become a deaf-mute, or else I had lost my ability to hear or understand the language it was speaking. I mean really, it just lay there on the worktable in the middle of these glorious trees, a stone’s throw from a delightful lake, and there was nothing. Well, just a lot of unintelligent screams. It must have been loud because most everyone came by and asked me what I had planned to do with “that rock” which sat in the grass where I had tossed it in a fit of despair.

It lurked there for days. I worked on other stones. They must not have amounted to much as I have no memory of what I did. I frolicked with my friends in the lake. We ate very good food and watched a solar eclipse. I wandered around, visited with friends and made new ones. I worked very hard at not seeing that stone lying there writhing in frustration. I bought new stone in an unsuccessful attempt to move on.

It had gotten bad. I was eating less and less. I spent more time in the sauna than was good for me. There was definitely the beginning of a subtle shriveling of the skin. I over-bid at the auction: that may not have been the stone’s fault. The weekend was almost over and there was still nothing. I was going to be taking that stone home with tool marks all over it and not an idea in sight.

It was the morning of the last day. We would be breaking down at noon so there were a few hours to go and I was frantic. I plugged in my angle grinder and put in a simple masonry blade, the one that had come with the tool. It was a last ditch effort. I had already tried all the fancy bits and blades that I had purchased from Andrew. I donned my safety gear and pulled on my gloves. There was a glimmer from the stone as I approached.

The tool touched the stone, the dust flew, and a sound seemed to emanate from that stone. It had a whirling beat and catchy tune. I was caught up in the excitement of that song. A breeze seemed to spring up from nowhere. There was a zing in the air like there was a magic spell being cast and I was in the middle of it. The dust danced around my head, and my friends gathered around. When next I was aware, I was dancing around the table with the angle grinder in my hands: the piece was practically ready for finish sanding. I had been running and spinning around that piece like a whirling dervish without a stumble or trip on the many cords and hoses that surrounded me, oblivious to their threat. The music was still humming in my head but the frenzy had eased.

As the dust settled I looked at what had been created. I have never been as pleased with a sculpture as I was at that moment. I had gotten there, I had given birth to something beyond what I had hoped for, and I was elated. I cannot remember packing up. That piece was the last thing in the car and it seemed to hum a happy little tune to me all the way home.

I had met the Enlightning muse, the one that often comes like a lightning strike. We all know that a lightning strike can be dangerous, but this one often gets you all charged up with a vision, and the energy to make it so. She is the most elusive of the muse tribe. As you can see from the description of my experience it can be quite dangerous. But, the rewards are incredible. Now, this is not a muse that you can will into existence. It is also the one, if you’re not careful, that may leave you without fingers or toes. I believe that I was not injured in this experience because I try to wear appropriate safety gear all the time so that when the attack came I was ready.

I have since had experiences with many forms of the muse tribe, but that elusive Enlightening muse has not been back. She left a legacy on which I try to draw, and the faith and hope that at sometime in the future, when I really need her, she will be back. I find that many of you are hoping to have a similar adventure.

I must remember to wear my gloves and dust mask and such to be prepared for the next meeting. I have grown quite fond of my fingers and toes.

Studio Ideas - Jan/Feb 2006

Details: Created: Monday, 02 January 2006 05:27

I have been building my studio, on south Beacon Hill in Seattle, for about 15 years. I started when my garage was smashed by a neighbor’s wall. (His property is about 12 ft taller than ours on the hill.) We ended up tearing down everything except the foundation. When we started building, I searched ideas for the ideal studio (which I have still to totally encompass as it seems to change periodically.) Having a husband that is a contractor is a definite plus. I decided that our little 15’ x 25’ garage foundation was too small so we enlarged it to about 20’ x 25’ and built it with 2’ x 6’ timbers to include a little room for extra insulation for better sound proofing. As I do public sculptures we made the ceilings 10’ high so large sculptures can be worked.

The theme of my studio is recycling. It creates an eclectic design of which I am rather proud. It also reflects my personality. All my fixtures and doors, windows, French doors, cabinets, flooring were saved from the garbage dump. Some of my cabinets are from houses built in 1910, as are some of my windows. I am not talking about “garbage” garbage, but good quality things that were just being discarded while still having a lot of life in them.

Now, you say, I have a contractor for a husband. That’s right, but ... here’s a thought! Contractors have to pay exorbitant costs to dispose of these perfectly good cabinets, lights and windows. Think about approaching a contractor you know and ask them if you could have the next set of kitchen cabinets that they are removing. Some contractors might not be responsive to your request because it is easier to smash them up when they are being removed, but there are a lot of contractors who feel as I do about filling our dumps with excess materials just because someone wants an updated look. I have received carpets that had been installed 6 months prior to the demolition.

My dust system is a furnace fan (free), which blows into a chute with baffles and into a basin of water. It is very effective. My heating system is a wood stove (free), centered in the studio. As I sell stone and tools, and teach, I have a variety of benches at different heights. An old dental chair (free) is the perfect height for detail work and sanding. On the wall, shelves hold the stone I sell. The lower cabinets hold every manner of tools and sandbags.

My French doors open to allow me to bring in large pieces through the main doors but at the other end of the studio, I will shortly be installing a pair of 12’ barn doors, which I will make myself.

I decided that I didn’t want just the run-of-the-mill look outside, so while the front is sided, the entry to the yard, which consists of two walls in an L shape with a window, is, at present, becoming a mural. I am using ¾” marble from a tile store (free because they are scraps they can’t use and they would have to haul them to the dump), smashed into chunks, applied with tile mastic and grouted with a sanded grout. It will be a weeping willow tree scene when I am done. Not only will it be an interesting facet to my studio, it could prove to be another job opportunity to explore.

The nice thing about building in this manner is that if I don’t like something, I can rip it out and replace it with something else. My husband is always bringing home something neat. Another way of approaching this style of building is to hang out at places like Earthwise or other recyclers of old house fixtures. I will tell you that you can get some wonderful things at these places but you will pay a wonderful price too! Why not see what you can get on your own? The recyclers are great when you have a very specific desire and can’t find what you want. My studio is a work in progress. It is not done and may never be done, but it is a joy to watch come together. If you would like to visit, I would be proud to show you around.